Midplane
Along with Heaven and Hell, the Midplane is one of the Prime Planes of Creation. It is the center of the Material Universe and the stage on which most of the story takes place. The Midplane is the key plane of the Cycle where souls are continually reincarnated in new bodies until they achieve enlightenment and can ascend to Heaven. Souls that become too heavy with sin fall to Hell until their sin can be burned away. 'The Known Universe' The Known Universe, also called the Old Empire is the former domain of the Dragon Clan of Gods. In the dawn of the Universe when the Gods emerged, the Dragon Clan are believed to have controlled only a single galaxy. However, many of the surrounding God Clans were slaughtered by Satan, and when the war with the demons was over and the barrier was erected, the Dragons were able to expand their influence into areas once controlled by other Clans. As time went on the Dragon Clan believed itself to be the only survivors of the War against the Devils, since they never encountered another Clan. The Dragons ruled their empire from a pocket dimension called Drago. This world was inaccessible to most of the rest of the galaxy, requiring either intimate knowledge of its location coupled with a God's ability to teleport or the following of a complex route called the Dragon Road to reach it. From Drago the Gods were able to observe their entire empire and could manifest wherever they wished. To maintain control of their empire they used a race called the Drow to create two servant races, the Gnomes and the Ogres. The Gnomes were engineered for supreme psychic abilities and cleverness, while the Ogres were engineered for brute strength and fighting ability. The Gnomes were given the title of Watchers, as it was their responsibility to watch over the subject races of the Gods, while the Ogres were called Knights and used as the military might for the Gods. These forces became called the Holy Order and were the enforcers of Drago's will. Subject states were largely allowed to do as they wished so long as they paid the Gods their tribute. Should they fail to honor the Gods, they would be subject to destruction at the hands of the Holy Order. Today two powers have grown from the corpse of the Old Empire. The All Union is made from many of the most powerful states of the Known Universe who are bound in a federation overseen by the Watchers and their SENTINEL Order. The All Union is centered on the planet Brunent with the SENTINEL fortress world of Rya nearby protecting it. The other is the remnant of the Holy Order which remains loyal to the sole surviving Dragon, the God King Crash. The Holy Order today is a theocracy based on the planet Akeron and is ruled over by the Holy Ghost who speaks with Crash's authority. The two have existed in a state of cold war for thousands of years. The Holy Order eventually fell due to the actions of a group of Outlaws known as the Magnificent 7 who overthrew the Holy Ghost and even managed to kill the God King. This left the All Union as the sole superpower in the Known Universe and they quickly mobilized SENTINEL to bring the outlying powers to heel. Their progress was stymied by the war with the Vampire Horde and they suffered great losses at the hands of Drake. They spent the next 5 years in a massive rebuilding effort only to once again be confronted with an invincible evil in the form of the Bloodstone empowered Satan. He went on a rampage across the Universe, destroying countless worlds and killing trillions. Among the victims of his terror was the planet Rya. Drawn their by the power he sensed, he attacked SENTINEL and many died in the battle against him. It was only through the quick thinking of the Watchers that the Order managed to survive. 'Locations In The Known Universe' Drago: Found in another dimension accessed by navigating the Dragon Road through the Galactic Center, Drago was the planet which served as the Throne of the Gods. When the first Celestials descended from Heaven to incarnate as Gods, they made Drago their abode from which they could safely wage war against the demons. It would serve in this capacity during Adam's reign, but following his murder Strife lead the gods to a new home in the Midplane. Escaping her son, Eve fled back to Drago where she would hide from the Elder Gods until Asura asked her to take care of Crash. Drago was a beautiful paradise world, dotted with sparkling palaces which belonged to the Gods. It is unknown whether this was the planet on which they originated or if it was chosen by them. According to the mythology, this planet was where Crash’s mother Asura hid him to keep him safe from his father, Strife. When Crash and his siblings overthrew the Elder Gods to become the Lords of the Galaxy, Crash resumed the use of Drago as the throneworld of the Gods. From then, he and the other Dragons created gleaming cities on the planet and lived in palatial estates. Slaves from all corners of the galaxy were brought to attend to them, and for millennia they would oversee their empire from their shining seat. When Shiva achieved a level of power beyond Crash and became corrupt, the final showdown between herself and her son Shine occurred on Drago. The spot where Shine finally managed to seal his mother into the Bloodstone left behind a seemingly bottomless hole. When Crash reemerged in the Universe and sought the Bloodstone, he did not return to Drago. It was only much later when he finally gained the Bloodstone that he returned. It was here that he had his final showdown with the saran Warrior-Born, Cain, and lost his life in the fight. Shortly afterwards, agents of the Truan Imperium arrived on the planet and recovered the shards of the Bloodstone which had been shattered by Cain. Earth: The home planet of the human race, Earth itself spends the majority of the story ignorant of the inter-galactic Community. Many of the more powerful governments of Earth, however, are independently aware and regularly interact with the greater community of space, and had even managed to procure a status for Earth as a Protectorate of the All Union. Section 13 of the United States Government regularly interacts with and cooperates with alien agencies up to and including SENTINEL itself. It is only after the Horde follows the Magnificent 7 to Earth and takes it over that Earth finds itself rudely brought into the Universal Community. Following the defeat of the Horde, Section 13 opens itself up to the public and helps ease the transition of Earth from isolated Protectorate planet into a member of the All Union. After this Earth came under control of a single Republican government. Arkem: Arkem is an artificial planet which floats on the border of the North and East Galaxies. It is considered a way station for the seedier characters making their way across the Universe. Given its precarious location, it is a favorite hideout for those on the run from the law. Despite the proximity of a SENTINEL base to it, it is large enough and easy enough to get lost in the crowd that even that elite organization is rarely able to find the people they’re looking for even when it’s known that they are on Arkem. Kazan: Kazan is the third planet of the Kai system in the East Galaxy and the saran homeworld. There are seven continents spread over the planet separated by four seas. Water covers over 60% of the planet’s surface. Kazan suffers from drastic extremes in climate, from scorching hot in the day to freezing cold at night. Most of the planet’s land mass is an arid desert, with only a few locations which are able to grow crops and raise cattle. Around these areas are the main settlements of saran civilization. Outside the cities and settlements is inhospitable wilderness prowled by hellish monsters. The atmosphere has a reddish hue, giving the sky a crimson color. Indeed most of the planet seems to be colored red. This is likely to have been caused by sediment from when a giant and highly radioactive meteor crashed into the Kazan untold millennia ago. It is thought that this meteor jump started the evolution of the beasts of the planet into intelligent humanoids. The crater left by this impact can be found on the Eastern continent. It is called Big Hit by the sarans and is regarded as a holy place. The Royal Castle of the Sarada Clan was built on the cusp of the crater on the shore of the massive lake which formed inside of it. The location of Kazan was largely unknown by the galaxy at large, since the sarans went undiscovered prior to Crash. He preferred to keep the source of his super soldiers a secret, and when the sarans overthrew him they saw little point to making their homeworld a target. Even into the rise of the Holy Order in the East Galaxy, no one outside the sarans themselves knew of the location of Kazan, instead the former garden world Akeron served as the center of the Holy Order’s government. Gravity on Kazan is also extremely intense, and the flora and fauna of the planet have evolved to be extremely hardy to deal with it. Kazan is also subjected to terrifying storms of incredible destructive power. The sarans were one of several intelligent races which inhabited the planet, but these others were wiped out or bred into the saran population. This is suggested by the fact that modern sarans are smaller and more intelligent than their marauding ancestors. Akeron: Akeron is the capital planet of the Holy Order and was the center of power in the Eastern Kingdom during the reign of Agni. In the Modern Age, it is the meeting place for all the Holy Warlords who administrate the Holy Order’s empire, though the Holy Ghost himself is rarely there. The planet itself is administered by priests from the myriad races of the Holy Order, many of whom have been brainwashed to serve the Holy Ghost without question. Akeron is covered with temples dedicated to the Holy Dragons, which are filled with arcane technology. In the time of the Gods it was a glittering world, but after the Cataclysm the gleaming marble turned grey and dull. In the Palace Temple there is a massive statue of Crash, at the base of which sits the throne of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost prefers to stay on Kazan largely to keep the sarans under his thumb, and rarely appears on Akeron in person. Instead he projects himself into meetings through telepathy or holograms. Agnar: Homeworld of the Ogres, it is named for their patron God, Agni. Agnar is dotted with sprawling cities with imposing architecture, all meant to express the glory of the Ogre State. From their creation, the Ogres were forged into a warrior race completely dedicated to the cult of the gods. The culture given to them by Crash was one of rigid stoicism and spartan discipline. Ogre art is very stark and simplistic, with everything in their cities having a very art deco feel. Ultra: A planet in the North Galaxy with a human population that was apparently transplanted there and abandoned by whoever moved them millennia ago. It is figured that this was likely done by the Gods who experimented on the population and then lost interest for an unknown reason, as the names of the 12 Heavenly Dragons are occasionally invoked by the populace. The culture of the planet is currently similar to Earth in the late 20th Century, with the exception of the diverse population of super powered meta-humans. The guardian of the planet is an Omnian who calls himself Sovereign, and rumor has it he is THE most powerful being in the Galaxy. Rorok: Rorok is the planet where the Champion of the Universe, Dio, had his greatest victory. In order to commemorate it, he built the Frehm Arena which would orbit the planet. Every 5 years he would host a tournament here to name a successor to his title. Seere: Seere is an arid desert planet. It is habitable in that it has a breathable atmosphere, but it is considered unpleasant enough and has no real resources that anyone ever goes there. When Ernie Hammer fled prosecution by the High Lords, he hid himself on Seere. It was not until Cain crashed on the planet that he found himself with company, and even then it was very brief. The planet is worthy of note only because it was the hiding place of Ernie Hammer, and the place where Paladin Squad 0 fought and were killed by the Magnificent 7. Rya: Rya is the home planet of the Watchers and the Headquarters for SENTINEL. The planet itself is in the same system as the planet Brunent, the Headquarters of the All Union. While Brunent was created to be a beautiful garden world, Rya is mostly small and bleak, having been devastated by Shiva's rampage. Since then, the Watchers heavily fortified the planet. It is now a fortress, completely covered in blue steel with defensive rings at its poles. On the face of the planet is a giant yellow and white Crest of Shine. Brunent: Also called the Gleaming White World, Brunent is the capitol of the All Union, and the meeting place of it’s member states. The planet was specifically set up by the High Lords to appear as Paradise to the member States of the All Union and to demonstrate the power the All Union possesses. Tanthalas: Center of government for the powerful Truan Imperium, Tanthalas is the throneworld of the Washai Royal family. Tanthalas was chosen by the ancient Truans because of its extraordinary beauty, and even today the planet is well known for its tranquil scenery and lavish cities. During the war with the Horde much of the planet was devastated, but when Princess (now Empress) Tei returned following the defeat of Drake on Earth she set about restoring Tanthalas to its former glory. Omnius: A planet that was once deep in the West Galaxy, Omnius was a home to ancient beings of incredible power known as the Omnians. Unlike their contemporaries, the Gods, the Omnians were highly xenophobic and possessed a stagnant society. The planet possessed a uranium core that became increasingly unstable over the eons, periodically poisoning the Omnians. Eventually this core exploded, wiping out the Omnian race with a few exceptions, taking with it one of the most noble civilizations in the Galaxy. Arus: An idyllic planet in the West Galaxy that is the legendary birthplace of the demigod, Gaia. In ancient times, his mother Allura escaped there after being exiled by her father from a neighboring planet. Taken in by the royal family of Arus, she gave birth to the God King's son. Gaia would go on to become a great hero, but was eventually tricked into releasing the dread beast Tarsis, which slept beneath Arus. Driven to protect his home from destruction, Gaia managed to defeat the beast at the cost of his own life. However, because of the Holy blood in his veins, he did not truly die. He was brought to Drago by Crash to heal, and inducted into the Dragon Pantheon as a full god. A cult worshipping Gaia sprang up on his home planet, and he would return there many times over the eons to check in on his beloved home.